1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber, an optical sensor including optical fiber, a method of manufacturing the optical fiber, and a deposition apparatus for them, and more particularly to metallic structures on the side of an optical fiber for increasing an optical signal generation area, an optical sensor including optical fiber, a method of manufacturing the optical fiber, and a deposition apparatus for them.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, fiber-optic refractive index sensors utilizing surface plasmon resonance have been developed. Optical fibers have a superior electromagnetic interference shielding characteristic, fast response time, and ability to achieve long-distance transmission, but the sizes thereof are small. Accordingly, such optical fibers are used as platforms of biological/chemical sensors in various fields, e.g., microenvironments, such as blood vessels, carbon dioxide geologic storage facilities, and the like.
Meanwhile, existing refractive index sensors using the optical fibers have optical filter, which includes plasmonic structures, at end faces of the fibers. By the way, since an area of the optical filter is limited to a small area of the end face, a small amount of optical signals are disadvantageously generated. Accordingly, research into an optical fiber for increasing the amount of optical signals and a sensor using the optical fiber is underway.